The content of economic education in Germany is based largely on the laws and ideals of the prevailing economic system. While Western concepts such as the competitive market typically are addressed in economic programs in Germany, they may be unfamiliar in Eastern European countries that were part of, or under the influence of, the former Soviet Union, where many youths living in Germany originate. Findings from large-scale quantitative studies of economic and financial literacy in Germany indicate that people who have a migration background (MB) perform worse on tests of economic literacy than those who do not; however, these studies do not provide sufficient insight into the underlying migration-related causes of the deficits in economic literacy. In this study we investigate the influence of family financial socialization on young adults’ understanding of economic and financial concepts. We interview eight young adults with a post-Soviet MB living in Germany using a two-part procedure: problem-centered and think-aloud interviews. We found that migrant parents directly and indirectly influenced their children’s understanding of economic and financial concepts in numerous ways, and we maintain that the best way to remedy the deficits in their understanding of such concepts is through targeted programs and teacher training.

In Germany, economic and financial concepts are characterized by the prevailing Western economic legal system. These are not always in line with the economic and financial concepts in Islam (e.g., prohibition of interests in Islamic law). The more important Islamic financial institutions are in a country, the stronger the impact of Islamic financial principles on the economic and financial knowledge of the population. People who migrated from predominantly Muslim countries were usually family-socialized with concepts of Islamic Economy and Finance and impart this information to their offspring. Young adults who grow up in an environment that is not shaped by Western (cultural) views may be particularly affected. The lack of systematic inclusion of economic and financial content in German general education curricula leads to challenges in understanding these concepts. Here, a two-part qualitative interview procedure was used to investigate possible challenges in the understanding of economic and financial terms and concepts by people with a Muslim background (eight respondents were interviewed in summer 2022). In this article, the findings on the identified barriers are presented and discussed. Subsequently, the implications for economic education are outlined, including the need to raise awareness among (prospective) teachers for migration-specific concepts, the special needs of heterogeneous classes with regard to migration backgrounds and the development of target group-oriented teaching and learning materials in economic and social education.

When looking at the German- and English-language literature on financial literacy, one is struck by the heterogeneity in terms and definitions used in different papers, such as financial literacy, financial knowledge, financial capability, financial competence or financial education. Often, different definitions describe the same construct, or definitions with the same content use different terminology. Sometimes, explicit definitions are missing completely. As a result, the constructs behind the terms and the definitions often remain vague. Studies based on these definitions and their findings are hardly comparable, the findings cannot be generalised, and it is difficult to derive educational measures from these findings. Despite all differences, however, the definitions have a common core: financial knowledge is assumed to be a central component of financial literacy in all definitions we encountered. Our chapter takes up definitions, terms and the description of the underlying constructs from studies focussing on financial literacy. Furthermore, we look at the content areas included in each case and analyse whether only personal finances or society-related aspects are taken into account. This is intended to systematically show which constructs are behind which terms and definitions, how broad the content areas are that are considered by the respective authors as an expression of financial literacy and which decisions (personal, societal) are included in each case. We also take a first look at whether the constructs include financial behaviour. Ultimately, the aim is to create a framework in which existing and future studies can also be located and which forms a basis for comparing different studies and deriving evidence-based support measures.